You were driven out of the capital at the start, and you ask me why I rebelled?

Chapter 8 City Defense Army Gu Hong

Inside the Liang Prince's Palace.

Two assassin leaders had arrived outside Ying Chen's room.

"Strange, why can't I sense any presence? Could it be that the King of Liang has already escaped?"

"A leader said."

"Since there's an ambush inside the Liang Prince's residence, it means the Liang Prince received advance warning and moved out beforehand. The commotion here is too great; the army will arrive soon, and then we won't be able to leave..."

Another leader analyzed.

Both men looked extremely grim. This operation had not only failed to achieve its mission but had also resulted in heavy losses, almost wiping out years of accumulated resources, all without any reward. This left them in a very bad mood...

"withdraw!"

However, even anger was useless. The most urgent task was to leave before the army arrived, otherwise their lives might be lost here...

The two turned to leave, but just then, a figure suddenly appeared behind them. The newcomer was dressed in similar attire to those who had appeared in the Liang Prince's mansion, but clearly much more extravagant...

The two men's expressions changed drastically. They hadn't noticed when this person had appeared at all; there was only one possibility...

"Gentlemen, how dare you come and go as you please at my Liang Prince's Mansion..."

Lu Bing spoke coldly.

The two assassins were blocked in their path. Their opponent was likely stronger than them, but with two of them, they weren't necessarily going to lose...

The two exchanged a glance, nodded simultaneously, and charged towards Lu Bing...

Both were professional assassins; their speed was incredible, and from a distance, only afterimages could be seen...

But in Lu Bing's eyes, their speed was indeed as slow as a tortoise crawling...

"Unbelievable!"

A sneer appeared on Lu Bing's face. If His Highness hadn't insisted on keeping them alive, these two would already be corpses...

Touch

Touch

Two sounds rang out, and the two assassins were sent flying backward at an even greater speed than they had come, landing on the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust...

"Cough, cough, cough!"

A coughing sound followed, and the two men, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths, struggled to lift their heads, staring at Lu Bing in disbelief. Although they knew Lu Bing was strong, they hadn't expected him to be this strong—he had severely injured them with just one move...

Lu Bing didn't waste any words with them. He unleashed several streams of spiritual energy, striking their dantian directly and shattering their golden cores...

"Pfft~"

Both of them turned pale and coughed up a mouthful of blood...

"You...you crippled our cultivation?"

"A hitman said angrily."

For them, having their cultivation destroyed was more painful than being killed. From then on, they were no longer high and mighty cultivators, but ordinary people. This huge psychological gap was hard for them to accept...

But Lu Bing didn't even glance at them before turning and leaving...

Four imperial guards emerged from the darkness, approached the two men, and dragged them up like dead dogs. They then turned and disappeared back into the shadows. The entire sequence of actions was executed with practiced ease, as if they had done it countless times before…

After Lu Bing left, fierce fighting broke out throughout the city, but it quickly subsided again, as if nothing had happened...

After an incense stick's time, the entire city of Shuoyang fell completely silent. All the assassins, except for the two captured earlier, had been executed...

Tap tap tap~~

A series of orderly footsteps echoed through the city's passageways; the army had finally arrived, albeit belatedly...

They strolled leisurely towards the Liang Prince's residence, giving the impression that they weren't there to provide assistance, but rather for a leisurely outing...

After what seemed like an eternity of dawdling, we finally arrived at the Liang Prince's residence...

Gu Hong stared in surprise at the corpses in the Liang Prince's mansion. He could tell that these bodies belonged to the assassins. Wasn't it said that the Liang Prince had only brought some servants and no powerful warriors? How could he have killed so many assassins...?

"Gu Hong, a city garrison commander, requests an audience with His Highness, the Prince of Liang!"

Gu Hong stopped outside the Liang Prince's Mansion and called out loudly.

Tata~~

A series of footsteps sounded, and Ying Chen emerged with his men. He looked at Gu Hong with a cryptic smile and said, "General Gu, you've arrived just in time! The fighting here is already over, and you're only just getting here..."

Gu Hong's expression turned somewhat unpleasant; he knew that Ying Chen was mocking him for being late...

"Your Highness, please forgive me. The city garrison is quite a distance from the Liang Prince's residence, and it will take time for them to arrive. Upon learning of the attack on the Prince's residence, this humble general immediately mustered the troops and rushed here..."

Gu Hong's tone was sincere; if Ying Chen hadn't known the reason, he probably would have been deceived.

"Oh? Then why did I receive the news that General Gu, after receiving the message, was unhurried and showed no urgency, taking a long time to assemble the army...?"

"It's as if...you don't want me to be saved..."

Ying Chen stared sharply at Gu Hong.

Gu Hong felt a chill run down his spine under his gaze and quickly lowered his head, feigning a wronged expression: "Your Highness, this is slander! This is absolutely slander! This humble general is utterly loyal to Your Highness, and heaven and earth can bear witness to this..."

"Really?"

A meaningful smile appeared on Ying Chen's face, and seeing this smile, Gu Hong had a bad feeling...

Ying Chen waved his hand lightly, and a member of the Imperial Guard came to the front of the group, taking out a piece of paper...

Everyone stared at him curiously, wondering what he was going to do.

"Read it!"

Ying Chen spoke softly.

The Imperial Guard nodded, then picked up the paper and began to read...

"General Gu, I know that you have lofty ambitions, but you are confined to that barren land of Liangzhou, unable to realize your aspirations..."

Upon hearing this opening, Gu Hong's expression changed drastically, and his face quickly turned deathly pale. How could this be? He clearly...

"As long as you assist those assassins in killing that good-for-nothing, this prince guarantees your promotion, your departure from Liangzhou, and your appointment to the capital..."

Gu Hong's face had turned completely bloodless. He collapsed to the ground, knowing he was finished. Once the charge of assassinating a powerful prince was established, even if he hadn't directly participated but was merely an accomplice, he would still face certain death...

The soldiers who had accompanied Gu Hong were also in an uproar; they had never imagined that their general would attempt to assassinate the current prince...

"Well then, General Gu, do you have anything else to say?"

Ying Chen came to Gu Hong's side and looked at him coldly.

Gu Hong raised his head and glared angrily at Ying Chen, his eyes bloodshot. It was all his fault! Couldn't he have just died? Since you're not favored anyway, exchanging your death for my future would benefit both of us. But why did you survive...?

Gu Hong felt no regret at this moment; instead, he blamed Ying Chen for not dying. If Ying Chen knew what he was thinking, he would be utterly speechless...

"No, I still have a chance..."

Gu Hong jumped up, and the surrounding Imperial Guards immediately went on alert...

"It's you, it's all your fault. If I can kidnap you, then I'll still have a chance to live..."

Gu Hong said in a frenzied manner.

Then, they charged directly at Ying Chen, and the surrounding Imperial Guards immediately stepped forward to meet them...

Jingle bells~~

A clang of weapons rang out. Gu Hong possessed the cultivation of the Golden Core stage, while the Imperial Guards were only at the Foundation Establishment stage. They were no match for him and were defeated in no time. Gu Hong did not linger and continued towards Ying Chen...

As Ying Chen drew closer, a look of joy appeared on Gu Hong's face; the hope of survival was right before him...

Ying Chen shook his head and held up one finger...

Seeing this, Gu Hong was very disdainful. "You, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, dare to block my way? I really don't know what's wrong with this Liang King's brain..."

However, his smile quickly vanished as Ying Chen unleashed a beam of spiritual energy from his fingertip...

It swept towards him with overwhelming force...

His expression changed drastically, and alarm bells rang in his mind; this attack was extremely dangerous...

He frantically twisted his body, trying to dodge the attack, but it was too late. The beam of spiritual energy passed right through his head, and his head exploded like a watermelon, red and white fragments scattering all over the ground...

Gu Hong's final thought was that he had been deceived; this King Liang was not at the Foundation Establishment stage at all, but at the Nascent Soul stage...

But even if he knew, he wouldn't have a chance, because he was already dead...